


The Blood Messenger

by Silverfox20



Series: The Blood Messenger Universe [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Character Death, Child Abuse, Detectives, Gen, Guilt, Murder Mystery, Serial Killers, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:15:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28530561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverfox20/pseuds/Silverfox20
Summary: Detectives race against the clock to catch a serial killer before more bodies drop.
Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s)
Series: The Blood Messenger Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089935
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read the character descriptions you might want to go read that. It'll help with the characters later in the story.

In a town with a population of about two thousand people, there was a group of people who would be forever changed by the events that took place within a couple of days.

The town of Little’s End is an enigma to some people. Most just think nothing of it, they’ve lived there all their lives and have learned to roll with whatever happens. This will turn out to not be the case this time around.

Sitting in the high school's library was a group of seven friends, who always hung out during a free period. Jacobi with his fiery red hair was sitting next to Will, they were sitting across from Chris and his girlfriend Nicky. Valerie had pulled a chair over to sit next to Will, who was her boyfriend. Sasha and Remy were sitting in the remaining chairs around the table. 

“Did you guys hear that Mr. Wilson was murdered two days ago?” Asked Sasha. Everyone looked up from what they were doing. “It’s all over the news. I’ll be surprised if someone doesn’t know.” Replied Will. “Do you think there will be another murder?” “Jacobi, bud, you got nothing to fear. The cops probably caught him by now, or at least have suspects.” “Well Chris,” Jacobi’s voice tinged with annoyance, “ _ you _ have nothing to worry about, your dad’s a cop. Not all of us have the same protection.” He seemed to deflate a little at the thought of someone coming after one of them.

“Everyone just relax.” Will, ever the peacekeeper. “We have nothing to worry about because there’s no reason for anyone to come after us.” With that reasoning, the tension was eased and everyone seemed to visibly relax. Valerie must have agreed with him. “Yeah, it’s a stupid idea to think we’d be the targets of a murderer. I mean, there’s no reason to come after us, unless one of you is secretly a criminal.” She said with a smile on her face.

Jacobi broke out into laughter. “There’s no way Chris could be a criminal. He’s too loud, he’d get caught while he was committing the crime.” Everybody was laughing by then, even Chris had to admit it was a little funny. “What about you?” Chris asked. “You’re too clumsy. I bet you’d fall down a flight of stairs trying to break into some place.” “You’re right. All of us would make pretty bad criminals.” They were laughing again and ended up getting a pointed look from the librarian causing them to quiet down.

School had ended and they all went their separate ways. They were all safe and sound in their homes. At the police station detectives were trying to figure out what the message at the crime scene means. “So, what does it mean?” Detective Moon asked. “ **‘When were you going to tell them you were a kleptomaniac?’** , that could mean a number of things.” Detective Johnson then spoke. “Wilson was a liar, not a thief. His friends and family can attest to that.” “Then the killer must be talking about someone else. But who could it be?”

Sasha was home alone working on her homework at the kitchen table. Her parents were both still at work. She had headphones in listening to music, leaving her oblivious to the creaking floorboards creeping up on her. The figure behind her was shrouded by the shadows, content to just watch a few seconds longer. Like a predator observing its prey before it gets ready to strike.

The figure struck, hand lashing out like a snake, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling back. Sasha cried in surprise but didn’t have any time to try and free herself as her head was yanked back, revealing her vulnerable neck. Within seconds he had a knife out, slashing her throat and releasing her. He stepped back watching the blood spray across her homework and the table. Sasha grabbed at her neck, trying to stem the blood flow. While doing so, she fell out of the chair and onto the ground gasping, a mess of blood and headphone cords.

He crouched down next to her, watching her as she futilely clutched her neck. “Shh. There there. It’ll all be over soon, and you’ll die knowing that in death you will serve a purpose.” Her movements were slowing and her breathing was shallow. The man watched the light fade from Sasha’s eyes as she finally stilled.

As he got up he pulled out two things: a piece of paper and a paintbrush. Unfolding the paper revealed seven pictures, each of which was people. The picture that was of Sasha was crossed out with a cliche red marker. He had to make a quick decision on which of her friends he was going to go after next before her parents got home. It would not be good to be caught this early in the game, after all, this was just the beginning.

With that last thought, he returned the paper to his pocket and dipped the brush, the tip tinged red from his earlier encounter with Mr. Wilson, into the blood that was on the table to start writing his message. When he was done he took a few seconds to admire his work. The next step was to take the metal box Sasha hid in her closet and bring it out into the light for all to see.


	2. Chapter 2

The detectives were now at the house of the McClarin’s, looking at the grizzly scene that was the kitchen. The body had been removed three hours ago. Johnson joined Moon, who was standing in front of one of the walls. “He left another message.” Moon informed him. “ **Police 0-2 Me** ” “Great, so he’s not only sadistic but cocky too.” Johnson said. “And the second part,  **‘When were you going to tell her you didn’t love her anymore?’** , is he referring to his next victim?” “Maybe.” Moon then turned to look at the metal box that was sitting on the table in the middle of blood. The lid opens to show a bunch of jewelry and some other little things. “What about that?” He nodded to the box. “Was it her jewelry?” “No, but get this.” Moon thought he sounded excited to share the information he had, even with the grim atmosphere. “When I was at the station, the boys told me that all the jewelry and knick-knacks in that box, have been reported stolen by various people.” “Do you think the klepto our killer talked about was Sasha McClarin?” Moon asked. “Maybe. I mean, we can’t rule it out.” “Then that would mean he was giving us a hint as to who his victim would be, who his next victim is going to be.” They were both staring at the message written on the wall. Johnson was already walking away when he started speaking, expecting Moon to follow him. We need to talk to her friends, they might know about our killer. Or they could know who he’s talking about now.” “Well it’s-” Moon glanced at his watch. “Ten after midnight. We should wait until later in the morning so then we can talk to all her friends at once while at the school.” “Sounds great. We’ll pick this up in a couple of hours.” They both said their goodbyes and parted ways to go home, where they would try and catch a few hours of sleep before having to talk to these kids about their dead friend.

There Jacobi was, sitting in fourth period Field Bio when the phone rang. When the conversation was over, Mrs. Langstrom looked right at him with a serious face. “Jacobi, you need to go down to the office.” And with that, she went back to teaching. When he arrived at the office he was surprised to see his friends along with two men with badges clipped to their belts.  _ The entire gang’s here. Minus Sasha, which is weird because everyone else is here. What’s even weirder is the two cops. _ Jacobi thought. Jacobi walked in as Principal Lewis looked up. “Well then, now that everyone’s here I’ll leave it to you two.” And with that, he left them alone with the cops.

“Hi. I’m Detective Johnson and this is my partner Detective Moon.” He said pointing to the guy next to him with his thumb. “We’re here to talk to you about the recent crimes that have happened.” “You’re talking about Mr. Wilson’s murder right?” Valerie asked. “Yes, but I’m also talking about the most recent incident that happened last night.” Johnson informed them. “Wait, so someone else was murdered?” Chris asked. “Who?” “First please take a seat.” Moon gestured with his hand. Once everyone was seated Moon started talking. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but um, your friend Sasha McClarin was killed at her house last night.”

At that everyone was shocked. Nicky put her hands over her mouth, blinking away the tears. “Oh my God. I can’t believe it.” Remy whispered to himself, staring at the ground with a blank stare. “Are you- are you sure it’s her? I mean it could be a mix-up. It could be somebody else, Sasha could just be missing.” Valerie said with tears streaming down her face. “Her parents confirmed that it’s her. I’m sorry.” Johnson’s voice held sincerity, while his face looked solemn. He spoke up again before anybody had the chance to say anything else. “This must be hard right now, but we don’t have time. The man who killed Sasha is going to do it again, and we need to stop him. So we need to ask you a few questions. Ok?” He waited until everyone nodded. “Did any of you know Sasha was a thief?” That got even more shocked looks. “What?” Will said. “Sasha would never steal-” He stopped. “She never stole anything.” He said with confidence. “I hate to tell you this, but she had a box of jewelry, among other things that were reported stolen.” “Oh.” Johnson carried on. “The killer left a message giving us a hint as to who his next victim will be.” He pulled out a piece of paper. “When were you going to tell her you didn’t love her anymore?” He read. “Does that mean anything to you?” Everybody shook their heads. “Did any of you see someone looking at or showing an interest in Sasha?” Moon tried. Again everyone shook their heads. Moon gave Johnson a look, signaling it was time to go. “I think we’re done here. If any of you remember something, give me a call.” Johnson gave each of them his card as they made their way out.

Chris tugged on Nicky’s hand before they left. “Hey, I have to do something real quick. I’ll catch up with you later.” “Ok.” Jacobi gave Chris a knowing look. He walked back in to talk to the detectives. Chris took one last look and saw that everyone’s parents had been called to take them home. His parents were there, but he figured they could wait a few more minutes.

Both detectives turned when they saw him walk back in. “Can I tell you guys something?” “Of course.” Moon jumped right into action. “What is it you want to tell us?” “It’s me.” “What do you mean it’s you?” Johnson asked, wanting more clarity. “I mean that the killer could be referring to me. I’m not in love with Nicky anymore.” Chris said solemnly. When he said the last part he was looking at the ground. “I was going to tell her in a couple of days, I didn’t want to keep dragging her along. The feelings that I had for her faded a little bit ago, it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. But how could the killer have known something like that? How could he know Sasha stole stuff?” Johnson was the one to pick this question up. “That’s what we’re working on. Now, did you tell anybody that you were going to break up with Nicky? Does anybody know?” “Um, nobody.” He paused. “Wait! I texted Jacobi like a week or two ago and told him I was going to work everything out, give myself a little time to see if this was just a fluke or something. I told him not to tell anybody.”

“We need to talk to him.” Moon said, already looking outside the room to see if Jacobi and his parents were still in the office. He looked back at Chris. “Can you text him and see if he left yet?” “Yeah.” Chris said while getting his phone out. After a little bit, he got a reply. “They’re already on their way home.” “Alright. Tell him to meet us at the police station, we have some questions for him.” “Ok.”  _ Ping. _ “They’re heading there now.” “We may have a couple of questions for you too, so head down to the station with your parents.” “Ok.” Chris went to leave then stopped. “Jacobi couldn’t have done this.” “Well, that’s what we’re going to find out.” Johnson said. And with that everyone left to make their way to the station.


	3. Chapter 3

There, sitting in an interrogation room was Jacobi and both his parents. Since he was a minor he was allowed to have a parent with him. His father said he could handle it, but his mother was very insistent that she be present while, in her words, “these low-grade animals who have nothing better to do interrogate my son.” Jacobi sent the detectives an apologetic look.  _ My mother, being as smothering as ever when in the company of others.  _ He thought. 

“Why is my son here? Why is he in this decrepit excuse of a room? He didn’t do anything wrong!” His mother demanded. “Genelle, calm down. Remember your blood pressure.” His dad, Henry, reminded. “I will not calm down. They have my baby locked in here like he’s nothing but a low-life criminal.” “Mom please, you need to calm down. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for why we’re here.” Genelle seemed to calm down a little at her son’s plea. “Ma’am, Jacobi’s here because he’s the suspect in a murder case.” Moon said. “Murder case?” His mother gawked, all semblance of calm she had gathered now gone. “My baby is no murderer, and if you think so, I think it’s time we call our lawyer.” Henry put his hand on her arm. “Now honey, don’t you think we should hear them out first? If it seems like it’s getting bad we’ll call the lawyer. Ok?” “Ok.” Johnson let out a sigh of relief. They hadn’t even started asking questions yet and the room was already five shades of tense. “Thank you. Now let’s begin.”

“We already know that the killer was talking about his next victim. We think Chris Wilkins is who he was talking about.” Where Johnson started, Moon picked up where he left. “Chris told us that the only person he’s told about breaking up with Nicky is you. He wouldn’t share a secret like that with anyone else in fear Nicky would find out. Now begs the question: How could the killer know about those secrets? Unless he was told them that is.” “Now you hold on a second. It looks like you’re trying to make Jacobi look good for these murders.” His mother was a minute away from fuming. “That’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re just trying to get to the bottom of this.” Johnson said, hoping to diffuse the situation. “Yeah, Chris told me about wanting to break up with Nicky, but I’m not the killer. I didn’t even know about Sasha being a thief, none of us knew.” He was now nervous and maybe a tiny bit desperate. “Alright,” Moon starts. “If it wasn’t you, then do you know who it might be?” “I honestly don’t know. Who would someone want to kill them anyway? Mr. Wilson was an ok guy, not a saint, but he was nice. With Sasha, they could’ve just told the cops. They didn’t have to kill her.” Jacobi seemed more melancholy than nervous now. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” It was Johnson’s turn to pick it up. “Did you see anyone who may have looked suspicious? Anyone who might have been looking at Sasha or Chris?” “No, I didn’t see anybody like that. Wish I did though, then you’d be able to catch this guy.” Johnson sighed. “Alright, well if we have any more questions we’ll call.” They started to stand up. The interrogation was over and they were going home. 

Walking down the hall, Jacobi passed by some glass doors. A glance inside showed him a cozy-looking room where Chris was sitting. He was talking to an officer. Jacobi could assume he was being asked some of the same things, though he wasn’t a suspect. After that, he and his parents went home.

In the room, the officer and Chris had finished up with the questions. “We’re going to put a protective detail on you just to be safe. Your dad has to finish his shift so one of the officers will take you home. Two officers will watch the house, if anyone shows up they’ll get him.” “Thanks.” Chris was then led out of the room and taken to the officer who was going to take him home.


	4. Chapter 4

There Chris was, home alone making some dinner with cops outside watching his house.  _ Creak. _ He looked behind him. Nothing. He walked into the living room and looked down the dark hall. Still nothing. He shook his head and turned around to go back to his food.  _ I’m just being paranoid. Nobody’s going to break into a house with cops watching it. _ He thought. As he was walking back, a hand snaked over his mouth, silencing his startled scream. He whipped his elbow back and made contact. The grip on him loosened and he heard a grunt, but he still wasn’t free. For his efforts, he felt a hand move to the side of his head, and before he knew it, in a blur of movement his head collided with the wall once, twice, three times. With him now thoroughly dazed and not trying to break free, the man put his hand in Chris’ hair and gave a rough yank, eliciting a grunt from his victim. Both his hands reached up to try and release the one in his hair. The man pulled out the knife he used on his previous victims and brought it to Chris’ exposed throat.

“Ple-please don’t kill me. Please, you don’t have to do this.” It was choked out and desperate. No such luck. He cut slow, holding Chris tight as he struggled. Blood sprayed on the hardwood, drops glinting from the light. A choking sound slipped past his lips, and then the killer was done and let go of Chris. He dropped to his knees clutching his neck, blood slipping through his fingers. After too much blood was lost, he fell the rest of the way to the floor, gasping and choking until everything went silent.

The man pulled out the paintbrush and went straight to work. After all, it’s suspicious when officers don’t report in after a while. 

An hour and a half later when the two officers didn’t report in like they were supposed to, a car was sent down to check out the area. The two showed up and brought their flashlights out. They could see the car the protective detail was using, it looked like the guys were inside. Both of them walked over, each taking a side of the vehicle. When they shined the lights in, their faces went white. One reached for his radio. “This is Officer Vitelli. I need backup at my location now. Officers down. I repeat, officers down.” The other one, who’s name tag read Gutierrez, suddenly looked up to meet his eyes. “What about the kid?” He sounded a little panicked and turned to run-up to the door. It was open. 

Vitelli joined him on the porch, guns drawn and lights facing forward. They didn’t have to search far. Their flashlights landed ten feet in front of them where the body of Chris Wilkins lay. “Oh my God.” Vitelli was the one who broke the trance and ran forward to check the kid. “We’re too late. He’s gone.” He stood up. “We need to search this place. The guy could still be inside.” And with that, they did a room by room search. When they were done they found themselves in the living room again. “Nobody.” Gutierrez said. “The front door was unlocked when we came in.” “That must be where he entered from, after taking care of the officers outside. Dispatch, this is Unit 2-3. We need CSI at the Wilkins’ residence. Over.” “Copy that Unit 2-3, ETA eight minutes. Backup is almost at your location.

Backup had arrived two minutes later. Vince Wilkins, Chris’ father, had shown up a little after the CSI team. “Where is he? Where’s my son?” He made to move into the house but Vitelli held him back. “I’m sorry, you can’t go in there. You shouldn’t go in there.” “This is my house, and that’s my son in there!” He pushed past Vitelli and walked into the house. He stopped a few feet in and dropped to his knees, a blank look on his face. Vitelli was behind him but thought to let him be and have a moment with his son.

The scene was as clear as day, numbers all around marking things to be photographed, no sheet on the body. Then a sound filled the air, the sound of a father who has lost everything. Vince sat by his son, sitting on the backs of his legs and feet. Hands covering his face with tears streaming down his cheeks, the scene of a broken man had everyone standing still for a moment. Vitelli walked up behind him. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and back at the station. He’s in good hands. They’ll take care of him.” By the time he was done talking he had Vince pulled up and walked to the door. He was still crying when he started talking. “I don-don’t know what I-I’m going to do. My boy is dead, why would someone want to kill him?” Walking to a car Vitelli said, “We’ll get this guy. He’ll mess up and we’ll be there when he does.” “I want to get this guy. I want to find him. And don’t tell me I can’t. I’m going to find Chris’ murderer one way or another, but I’ll find him faster if I have resources.” They both paused. “Ok. Let’s get you back. You’ll work better at the station.” He said while opening the passenger side door for him. Vitelli then got behind the wheel and started to drive back to the station. Flashing lights and news vans fading into the background.

[Three hours later.] 

“I’m Michelle Vance and this is Channel 6 News. Another victim has been claimed by the killer now known as The Blood Messenger. So far The blood Messenger has killed five, leaving messages at the first two crime scenes written in each victim’s blood. These messages are written as a hint to the police as to who his next victim may be. It’s safe to assume that this new crime scene will have a message of its own. I’m Michelle Vance and this is Channel 6 News. Stay safe out there.”  _ Click. _ Johnson turned off the tv. Moon and he had gotten back to the station an hour and a half ago to try and figure out some of the evidence from the scene. They were at their desks looking at crime scene photos when the news came on.

“Great, they’ve already named him.” “Well, what can you expect? This guy’s officially a serial killer now, of course they’re going to name him.” “I suppose. Nothing we can do about it now. Let’s get back to work.” They picked up the photos again. Moon was flipping through some when he stopped on one. It was the message, the one hinting to who his next victim would be. “Now we not only have to worry about teenagers, but we also gotta worry about parents too. He wants to play a new game.” He said flipping the photo to show Johnson.  **‘Cops 0-5 Me. Let’s play a new game, this time with the parents. Eenie meenie miney mo, which parents are the ones who abuse their child?’** “Alright, so from this standpoint he’s going after people who have done bad things.” “Yeah, but Chris Wilkins didn’t necessarily do a bad thing. He was going to break up with his girlfriend.” Johnson pointed at him. “True, but to our killer, it was wrong of Chris to lead his girlfriend on” “So our guy thinks he’s a vigilante of sorts. Mr. Wilson was just a sacrifice to get the ball rolling, and the two cops were in the way. He couldn’t risk them getting involved.” “Another thing, look.” He pointed to the photo of the cops. “He took the time to paint “Casualty” on both doors.” “Also a bullet in the head each. But then he uses a knife to kill his intended victim. Which means he likes to get up close and personal.” They were on a roll and picking up each other’s thoughts. It was Moon’s turn to fill in. “So the intended victim gets the knife while anyone who gets in the way gets a bullet. You know, he might not like getting up close and personal, he might need to. Our guy could be a compulsion based killer.” “And he’ll keep going until we catch him or he runs out of people to kill.” “This is a game to him, the compulsion might not be fun on its own so he needs the added thrill of possibly getting caught.” “We also have to consider the possibility that we’re over complicating things. He might not be compulsion based, he could just be sadistic and want to draw out their deaths while playing with the cops.” “We need to check hospital records, see if anyone’s been committed more than a few times for breaks or other injuries. We also need to look at the reasons, ones that are repeated or sound made up probably are.” Off they went to the hospital to find a child who’s been abused.


	5. Chapter 5

“I’m sorry detectives, but I can’t release that type of information. Patient confidentiality and all.” “Look, Doctor,” Moon glanced down at the name tag. “Tang. We understand, but right now we don’t have time to go through this now. Someone else is going to be killed and we need to find out who. So please, help us out.” “I’m afraid you’ll have to come back with a warrant.”

Johnson stepped into Tang’s space. “Now look here. We’re trying to catch a serial killer, if someone else dies because you didn’t give us the files, their blood will be on your hands.” He emphasized his point by poking him in the chest. He thought it over for a few seconds. “Alright.” He said resigned. “Follow me.” They followed him down the hall to what looked like the file room. “What specifically are you looking for?” He asked while closing the door behind them. “Cases that seemed like child abuse but couldn’t be proven.” “Also families with one child.” Johnson added. Tang walked over to a medium-sized cabinet. “This is a small town, we don’t get many suspected child abuse cases. We do have a few though.” they waited patiently while he was flipping through files. Tang then pulled a couple of files out and closed the cabinet. “There are two that fit that description.”

As they were leaving the hospital Moon grabbed his radio. “Dispatch, this is Moon. I need some guys to pick up some people, the Riviera and Nunez families. Over.” “Copy that detective.


	6. Chapter 6

Down the hall of the police station, in the conference room, yelling could be heard. “What’s the meaning of this? You already questioned my son about the murders. What could you want from him now?” “Mrs. Riviera I need you to calm down.” Moon had his hands raised in a placating manner. It was Mr. Nunez’s turn. “Why is my family here? We did nothing wrong.” “Sir, I get that you’re all confused, but if you could all sit down we could get started. Please.”

With everyone in a seat they started. “Now some of the questions will probably get uncomfortable, but to find this killer we need you to answer honestly.” There Moon was, trying to start off calm. Then there was Johnson, destroying all the calm and not caring. “Do either of you beat your sons?” “What the hell kind of question is that?” “Mr. Nunez, please sit back down.” Mrs. Riviera was sitting up straight. “This is absurd. Henry and I don’t beat our son.” At this Jacobi looked down. Moon grabbed both files and opened them. “Mr. Riviera, your son has been to the hospital three times in the past month. Fractured and broken ribs, sprained wrist, dislocated shoulder, and you’re telling me there’s nothing to it?” Mr. Riviera sighed. “Jacobi is a clumsy kid. Always falling or tripping, bumping into things. Why, just a couple weeks ago he tripped going down the stairs.” “Ok.” He said unconvinced.

He slid the Nunez file over to Johnson. “Oh wow, Mr. Nunez. Jason doesn’t have as many hospital visits, but they make up for that in severity.” “We don’t beat our son.” “No, of course you don’t.” “We’d like to speak to the boys alone.” “No! We’ve had enough of these accusations. We’re going home.” Her husband stood up then. “Genelle, let them talk. We didn’t do anything wrong, so there’s no problem.” “Ok.” Johnson looked over to Mr. Nunez. “Alright, fine.” And with that, all four parents walked out of the room.

“Now, please boys, tell us the truth. You’re not in any trouble. If you’re being abused we can help you, both of you.” Moon said sincerely. Jacobi was the first to speak. “I-”, he paused and looked down. “I’m fine. Not being abused or anything.” “Same here. My parents don’t do anything to me.” “We can’t help if you don’t tell us the truth.” Johnson reasoned. “I’m telling you the truth. I’m just clumsy... like my dad said. Just please drop it.” “Ok.”

Moon swiveled his chair around and waved the parents back in. “We’d like to place a protective detail on both your families. We have reason to believe one of you may be the target of the serial killer the news spoke of.” “With what happened with the last protective detail, I don’t think that’s the best course of action.” “Mr. Riviera,” Johnson started. “I understand that you’re wary because of everything that has happened, but you and your family need protection.” “I agree that they need protection. That’s why I will protect them.” “Mr. Riviera, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Why should I put the lives of my family in the hands of incompetent men?” “Same here. We don’t need no protection detail. I got a shotgun at home. Anybody even thinks they can make it inside my house won’t have a head.” “Please reconsider.” “Sorry, but there’s no changing my mind.” With that Mr. Riviera was the first to stand up, everyone followed. When Jacobi stood up, his dad brought his hand to the back of his neck. Both detectives didn’t miss the way Jacobi’s body tensed at the contact. “We’re leaving.” While everyone was leaving Johnson talked to someone about getting some unis to watch both residences.


	7. Chapter 7

When they got home it was late. Jacobi got out of the car and immediately made his way to the house. He wanted to get to his room as soon as possible and lock himself in there. To protect himself for the night, not from The Blood Messenger though. As fate would have it, he wasn’t so lucky. As soon as he got the door unlocked and took a step inside, his father had grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him to the floor. His mother shut and locked the door behind them.

“Why the hell do they suspect us?” he yelled at Jacobi. “Ple-please dad. I di-didn’t tell them, I swear.” He was on his back, hands now raised, ready to try and defend himself if it came to that. And odds are it was coming to that. “Yo-you didn’t tell them?” His dad mocked. His eyes were wide and he was terrified. His mother in the meantime could hear everything, but she didn’t mind as she made herself busy in the kitchen. “Like hell you didn’t!” He spat. “I bet you told your little dead friend about everything, and then he told the cops everything while they were questioning him.” “I didn’t tell him anything. Please, you have to believe me.” He pleaded, his eyes shimmering with tears that threatened to spill. “I don’t have to do anything!”

He broke through Jacobi’s defense and roughly grabbed him by his shirt collar. He then promptly brought his fist down, punching his son, hard. Jacobi looked more docile, but his father took it as something else. “You think this is over? We’re just getting started!” He punched him again pulling a cry from his lips. “I have to teach you a lesson after all!” He had a crazed look in his eyes.  _ Punch _ . “You”  _ punch _ “deserve”  _ punch _ “this.” Blood was pouring from his nose, while some was leaking from the corner of his mouth, eyes barely slits. His hands reached up to grab at his father’s hand. “Please, stop.” It came out as a choked whisper. His dad let go, dropping him unceremoniously to the ground, where he stayed. He then made a move to get up, not good. His father swung his foot, the toe of his boot connecting with ribs. He then repeated the action again, and again, and again. He stopped when Jacobi was no longer moving. He could still see the shallow rise and fall of his chest. He then left him there to go see what was for dinner.

The cops in the car a little bit down the street were unaware of what just transpired. And they’d be unaware of what was going to happen, after all, you can’t catch a shadow that blends in with the dark. 

He picked the lock on the back door that led into the laundry room. Careful to avoid the kitchen, he tiptoed into the living room where he found the boy. He was unconscious with a puddle of blood by his mouth. The Messenger crouched down and felt for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there.

_ His father did a number on him. _ He thought. He then leaned by his ear and whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of them for you. After they’re gone you’ll be safe, finally.” He got up and crept towards the kitchen, with a knife in hand. Take out the bigger threat first. Standing in the doorway he saw the father eating at the table, while the mother was cleaning up the counter. He moved forward with the grace of a cat and yanked back the man’s head.

“Wha-”  _ Slice. _ Genelle turned around at the sound of her husband. “Ahh!” He let go of the hair and the head dropped to the table.  _ Thunk. _ She tried to make it to the other doorway but failed. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and spun her around. He then bashed her head off the table and slit her throat in one smooth motion.

He got out the paintbrush and began working. He had to be quick if he wanted the kid to still be alive by the time he alerted the cops down the road. He finished up and went to check on the boy. After making sure he was still alive, he went over to one of the wooden stands and picked up a paperweight. He then proceeded to the front window and threw the paperweight at it, shattering glass. He made his way to the backdoor fast. He knew he caught the cops’ attention because while he was making his escape, he heard the car stop in front of the house. He disappeared into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

They stopped in front of the house and got out. Weapons drawn, they ran up the steps and kicked in the door. They didn’t have time to call out or check the lock. They needed to get in there now. They stopped in their tracks at the sight of Jacobi’s crumpled up form on the ground. One of them crouched down and felt for a pulse. “He’s still alive” He exclaimed, shocked. “I’ll deal with him, check the rest of the house.” With that, the other one moved on to check the other rooms. “Dispatch, this is Unit 2-1. I need an ambulance at the Riviera residence.” “Copy that Unit 2-1. Ambulance en route to your location.” He stood up, light glinting off a nametag that read “Smith”. He heard Weston, from the sounds of it, he was in the kitchen. “Oh, Jesus.” Weston had holstered his gun and looked green from the sight. He made a sound like he was going to be sick, causing Smith to jump into action. He quickly placed his hand over Weston’s mouth before he could get sick. “Sorry, but can’t have you throwing up and contaminating the crime scene.” Once he was sure Weston wasn’t going to be sick he removed his hand. “You good?” “Yeah.” He turned around to make his way back to the boy. “So what did you find?” “Back door was unlocked and opened. Probably how he got in and out.”

The ambulance had come and with it cops and a couple of news vans. Johnson and Moon were in the kitchen looking at the mess of blood. They had been on the scene for only ten minutes, but they had an idea of what happened. They were walking back to the living room when Moon spoke. “So we’re pretty much on the same page about what went down, right?” “Yep.” “Alright. So they came home, didn’t even make it past the living room before the dad started to beat Jacobi.” “Probably thought he was the one who put us on their trail.” “We know the mother has to be involved. The message said “parents”, and both of them were killed. So maybe she was verbally abusive.” “I was thinking that too. It could also be that she didn’t stop the father from beating him. From his point of view, he could’ve thought of it as neglect.” “Neglect from protecting her child.” “Exactly.” Johnson looked at his watch. “We’ll know more when he wakes up.”

They made their way back to the kitchen to look at the message.  **‘Cops 0-7 Me. When were you going to tell him you were cheating? The cops can’t protect you.’** Moon sighed. “Do you know how many people he could be referring to? There’s definitely way more than one adulterer in a town of two thousand people.” “What about Jacobi’s friends?” “Killer or victim?” Moon asked, picking up on what he was asking. “It could be both. So far, all the victims except for Mr. Wilson and the cops have been or are associated with those friends. Sasha, Chris, now Jacobi’s parents, have all been victims. A friend could have probably figured something out, sensed what was going on.” “They could’ve decided to do something about it.” “Except for the fact that Mr. Wilson and Mr. Riviera were twice the size of Jacobi and his friends, so they couldn’t have overpowered them.” “Alright. So theory one is that the killer’s a guy who was able to figure out their secrets and overpower each of them. Theory two, one of the friends figured out the secrets, knew they couldn’t do anything about them, and decided to turn to someone who could.” “Great. So now we may not only have a messenger but his acolyte too.”

They got a board out and started going through things they already knew. Johnson had a marker at the ready. “So we know our killer is a guy.” “Which we already assumed.” “Right. He also has to be fit and somewhat strong to take down Mr. Wilson and Mr. Riviera.” “He doesn’t even have to be that strong. He has the element of surprise on his side.” “He would need a daytime job, something that would allow him time for his nightly activities.” “He’s organized. There’s no trace of him at the crime scenes. He’s thought this through. I’d eliminate people who are 18 to early 20s.” “Because young adults are more impulsive.” “Yep. I’d say we’re looking for someone in the 30s-40s range.”

Someone whistled right then. They turned around to see another cop standing there. “That was some fine behavioral analytics there Moon.” “More than what you have. Why don’t you run back to White Collar Mick?” “Heh heh, very funny. Hope you catch the guy.” He turned his back with a wave. “I hope so too.” Johnson muttered. Moon turned to him. “If we follow your acolyte theory I think we should talk to the group of friends again. Except for this time we put them in interrogation rooms, make them sweat a little.” “Get the insider to out themselves.” “And no more waiting. This guy has been out there long enough. We’re talking to these kids tonight.” “Agreed.”


	9. Chapter 9

“What are we doing here?” Will’s father asked. Moon and Johnson had gathered the parents together to explain why their children were being held in various parts of the police station. “We suspect one of your kids is helping the killer that’s been on the news.” Johnson replied. “That’s absurd. They’re just children. They’re not helping some psycho.” Nicky’s mother said. “It’s just a theory that we need to investigate. Seven people have been murdered and an eighth in the hospital due to severe injuries.” Will’s father was the first to speak up. “Jacobi. He’s not here. Does that mean he’s-” ''No. He’s not dead.” Moon cut him off. “His parents weren’t so lucky though. Jacobi’s in the hospital due to the injuries he received from his father.” “His father was beating him?” “Yes, he was. Now, these kids are here because the killer already has his next victim picked out, and one of them is going to be that victim. Unless they’re the one helping the killer.” Johnson finished. “We want to protect them, so let us do this.” How could they say no to something like that?

The police station didn’t have enough interrogation rooms for all of them. They would have to make do with two interrogation rooms, the conference room used earlier to talk to the Riviera and Nunez families, and an office. The parents weren’t in the rooms with their children because Johnson had kindly asked if they could speak to them in a somewhat one-on-one setting, the parents begrudgingly agreed. Moon was with Will, Johnson with Remy, and two cops they pulled from their desks were with Nicky and Valerie.

Moon stepped into the room. As he sat down he laid a file on the table. “Do you know why you’re here Will?” “I have an idea.” “We suspect one of you is helping the Messenger.” Will’s eyes widened and a look of shock settled on his face. “That’s crazy. No, no, that’s impossible. There’s no way any of us would do that. We couldn’t do that to our friends.” “Well, how can I rule you out? A few of you have motive. Chris was going to break up with Nicky. Maybe she found out. Maybe…” Moon made a gesture with his hand. “She couldn’t do what she wanted to him. Maybe she found someone who could.” “You’re wrong. Even if she did find out she’s too nice. She would’ve been upset, but not  _ that _ upset.

“If not her, then who?” “I don’t know.” “What about you?” “What about me?” Moon opened up the file and turned it facing Will. “This is what Jacobi’s father did to him when they got home from the police station after we questioned them about abuse.” Multiple photos were shown. Two were of Jacobi, face bruised and swollen from the beating, white bandages wrapped around his torso. The third was taken in the living room. It was a picture of the puddle of blood that formed while Jacobi was unconscious.

“Oh God.” Will brought his hand up to his mouth. He was looking a bit green. Moon closed the file. “I think you knew Jacobi was being abused. You are his best friend after all. So you found out and wanted to protect Jacobi, but you couldn’t kill both parents yourself, so you went to someone who could.” “No that’s not it. That’s not what happened at all!” Will said exasperated. “Then what did happen? Did you go to this guy asking for his help, but he wasn’t going to do it for nothing right? So he has you spill some secrets as a trade of some sort.” “No, I knew alright!” He seemed a little beat after confessing that. Moon waited quietly for him to continue. “I found out a couple of months back. He was so good at hiding it. He came over one day to hang out, my parents weren’t home. We were playing video games when my dog came in and jumped on him. I was so confused when he seemed hurt, he was clutching his ribs. When I asked him what was wrong he freaked out. When I finally got him to calm down I told him he could tell me anything and it’d be alright. He told me what happened.” He stopped for a moment. This was clearly hard for him to get out.

“He um… He said he didn’t hear his dad call for him, so he had to repeat himself. When he got downstairs his dad grabbed him by the back of the neck and told Jacobi that he shouldn’t have to repeat himself. He threw him on the floor and kicked him in the ribs a few times. But you know what the worst part is?” He looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Jacobi looked at me and said it was fine. Wasn’t even the worst beating he got, mild in comparison. It wasn’t fine. A father shouldn’t beat his son. I still remember the exact words he told me after that. ‘It’s alright. I deserved it. I shouldn’t have made him repeat himself.’ That made me so angry. Not only did his dad beat him, but he made him think that he deserved it too.” Moon had remained quiet the entire time, letting the kid unload all this… He didn’t know what to call it. Information? “What did you do about it?” “I damn near dragged him to the hospital to make sure nothing else was wrong. But he begged me not to, said it wouldn’t help, it’d only make things worse. I told him we could go to the cops. You guys could make sure his dad couldn’t hurt him anymore. He said if his dad could fool the doctors into believing whatever lies he told, he could probably fool the police too. He even said that if anyone were to find out, his father would probably kill him.”

Will had his head in his hands. “And so I left it alone. Whenever things got bad, which was a lot, Jacobi would stay the night at my place. It was like his safe haven. As long as he was there he couldn’t be hurt.” He took a moment to breathe, and when he looked up, tears were sliding down his cheeks. “I shouldn’t have let it get that bad. I should’ve brought him to the hospital or here. I should’ve kept him safe. If I had done something before, then Jacobi wouldn’t be in the hospital nearly beaten to death. He’s my best friend, and I just sat by and did nothing while he was getting hurt.”

_ This kid. This damn kid in front of me is crying because he feels it’s his fault his friend is in the hospital. The guilt of not telling someone the first time Jacobi told him, it’s eating him alive.  _ “It wasn’t your fault. Everything that happened to Jacobi isn’t your fault.” “Isn’t it? I did nothing to help him and he suffered.” Will’s voice was cracking and he seemed so small and vulnerable right now. “You’re telling me, everything you did for Jacobi: letting him stay the night at your house, letting him come over when things got bad, being there for him, you’re telling me you didn’t help him? Will, you were there when he needed you. If he didn’t go to you, there was nowhere else he could have gone. There was no one else who knew. He probably would’ve been beaten more if he stayed in that house and didn’t go somewhere. Jacobi would agree with me when I say he’s grateful you were there for him. You were what saved him.”

_ He’s not the acolyte. I know in a way only a cop will understand. After years of doing this, you get a cop’s intuition. And my intuition says Will is innocent. Jacobi was only beat because we were set on his parents’ trail, and that was courtesy of The Blood Messenger. Will would never put Jacobi at risk like that. _


	10. Chapter 10

Down the hall in the conference room, Nicky was sitting with an officer. Johnson had specifically paired this officer with Nicky because he was one of the officers that found Chris’s body. “Hello, I’m Officer Vitelli. I’m going to ask you a few questions. Ok?” “Yeah.” “I don’t want to do this to you, since you just lost someone close to you. You have my condolences.” “Thank you.” She was quiet, not whispering, but quiet. “But I have to ask. Did you know Chris was going to break up with you?” “What?” Oh, she was shocked.  _ Still got to tell her some things she’s not going to want to hear. _ Vitelli thought.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but Chris was going to break up with you.” “No. He was acting weird the past week, but it happens. We always get through things.” Her face fell then. She realized that she spoke of Chris using the present tense. The look in her eyes reflected sadness. “He didn’t seem like he wanted to break up. He never said anything.” “He told detectives Moon and Johnson that he was going to break up with you this week, but then the murders happened so he was going to wait until everything settled down.” “Why was he waiting so long?” “He wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.” “A fluke?” “Just a phase in a relationship that happens.” She did not look sad anymore, she looked mad. “So he was just dragging me along for however long, pretending?”  _ If she was the acolyte, maybe her anger would make her slip up. _

“It would appear so.” “Agh.” She put her hand to her forehead. “I can’t even be mad at him right now.” Nicky looked back up at Vitelli. “And why is that?” “Well, for one: He’s dead. There’s no point in me being mad at him right now. And two: I wish I could just ask him why he didn’t talk to me about it. Thing is… I’m not even mad at him about wanting to break up, I’m mad that he didn’t tell me when he figured it out.”  _ Well damn, not what I was expecting. Well, no time like the present. She still has motive, she could’ve been lying. _

Vitelli leaned forward. “So, at the time, did you still have feelings for Chris? Do you still?” “Yes, I still have feelings for him.” She laughed and looked up, tears were rolling down her cheeks. “Even though I know he was pretending towards the end, my feelings for him were real and still are.”


	11. Chapter 11

[In the conference room.]

Johnson and Remy were already sitting. Tension filled the air. Remy was nervous, and Johnson could see it. “So,” Johnson was the first to break the silence. “How long have you known Jacobi and the others?” He used Jacobi’s name only to bring attention to him. If Remy is the acolyte, then the best course of action to get a confession might be guilt. Make it seem like what happened to Jacobi was the acolyte’s fault. “I’ve known them since middle school.” “That’s when you moved here, yes?” Johnson asked, looking at the file he had on Remy. whenever he goes into an interrogation he likes to have as much information on the person as possible

“Yeah, that’s right.” “That couldn’t have been easy, being the new kid and all.” “It wasn’t. I was lucky that I found a group of friends as soon as I did.” “But they had been friends for years before they met you, you were like an outsider to their group.” Remy leaned back in his chair, hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, I guess. But that was then, we’re all great friends now so it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Were.” Johnson said. “What?” “Were. You all were friends before. Two of your friends are dead.” Silence filled the room. Remy’s eyes widened in shock at the words. Johnson kept going. “You see Remy, the person who told the killer those secrets, the acolyte, they’re the reason everyone is dead and why Jacobi’s in the hospital.” “What?” Remy still had a shocked look on his face.

“Well, if the acolyte had never told the killer about the secrets the three of your friends had, then the killer wouldn’t have decided to slit their throats. Everybody would still be alive.” Remy was still working through his shock. “Yo-you can’t know that for sure.” He stammered. “No, I can’t. But we do know that there most likely was an acolyte, someone who knew these secrets.” Johnson let that sink in for a few seconds, then kept going.

“You know, the only reason Jacobi’s father nearly beat him to death, the reason why he’s being monitored in the hospital because he might not make it through the night, it’s all because we were looking into abused teens. Jacobi’s father blamed him and took his anger out on him until Jacobi stopped moving. Now, this was probably bound to happen sooner or later. It just happened to be sooner because of this.” “No.” Remy’s voice quivered. There were tears in his eyes.

“I mean, that’s what happened. I’m only telling the truth.” He hated being so callous right now, but if he ever wanted to catch this killer he had to power through and play bad cop. Remy looked so close to shattering, Johnson needed to get the truth soon, or else the kid would break, and then he’d have nothing. He leaned forward. “The acolyte, the one we’re looking for now, can make things right. This might not have been what he wanted.” Talking about the acolyte like he was somebody else, like he wasn’t accusing Remy of anything, could help him.

Remy’s head was down and tears were falling to the table’s surface. Johnson was looking right at him. “He can still fix things. It’s not too late.” There was complete silence, until, “I-I didn’t mean to.” “What didn’t you mean to do Remy?” Remy looked up, broken and looking like he didn’t hear what Johnson said.

“I didn’t want it to happen. I-I just told him, nobody was supposed to die.” It sounded desperate. “What did you tell him?” Johnson pressed. “Secrets, secrets I knew, nobody else thought I knew, but I did. I found out by accident. Hearing little snippets, seeing hidden things. I just, I was so alone, I wanted somebody to talk to, somebody to listen to me. Then he came. He talked and listened to me, said he appreciated everything I told him and that I was being so good. I knew I shouldn’t have told him, but I didn’t care, he was listening to me and appreciating what I said. I wasn’t an outsider anymore.” He had tears streaming down his face.

“And then the killing started, and I didn’t know what to do. I went and talked to him. Asked him how he could do something like that to my friends. He said that they weren’t my friends, not when they left me alone for so long. I thought about going to the cops, but he said that wasn’t a good idea, that since I told him everything that I would get in trouble too. I didn’t want to go to jail. He said he’d take care of everything, that if I was good and didn’t say anything that everything would work out in the end.” Remy was frantic, crying and talking, because now that he was talking, he couldn’t stop until it all came out.

“But then it just got worse. More people were dying and you guys were talking to us. I just tried to stay silent, wait for everything to be over.” He had his head in his hands and he was sobbing. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” “You can still make this right Remy.” He looked up at Johnson. “What’s his name?”


	12. Chapter 12

[316, Willard Street.]

Cops surrounded the house, guns drawn. Johnson and Moon were at the front, Johnson had the bullhorn. “Jeffrey Hayes, we know you’re in there, we have the house surrounded, come out unarmed and with your hands up?” He yelled. Moon looked over at him. Johnson tried again. “Jeffrey Hayes, come out with your hands up, you have one minute to comply, we are prepared to take you by force?” Thirty seconds later the door opened and out stepped Jeffrey Hayes with his hands raised and a gun in his right hand.

“Put the gun down and get on the ground?” Moon yelled. All guns were trained on him. “So it would seem dear Remy gave me up.” Hayes said in a calm voice. “I won’t repeat myself, put the gun down and get on the ground?” The situation was tense. And it got even tenser when Hayes put the gun up to his head. “I have set them free from their sins as I have freed the ones they hurt from their hold.” And with that, he pulled the trigger and the sidewalk was splattered red.

[The police station. One day later.]

Moon and Johnson were packing up everything case related so that it could go into the file and evidence room. “God, I’m glad this is finally over.” Moon sighed. “I know. I just wish we could have grabbed the guy. He got an easy out.” Johnson said. “It’s still a win though. We stopped anybody else from dying and closed the case.” Johnson stopped. “You’re right. I just wish I could’ve helped Remy more.” “You did help him. They lightened his punishment because you got him to confess. He was emotionally starved and Hayes took advantage of that and manipulated him. There was nothing else you could do.”

“I know.” “On a lighter note. I got a call from the hospital. Jacobi pulled through, he’s going to be fine, but since he doesn’t have any relatives who can take him, or want him, Will’s family has volunteered to take him in.” “That’s good, he’ll be taken care of. They’ll show him what a healthy family looks like.” Johnson picked up one of the case file boxes and started walking towards the file room, Moon followed. “Wanna grab a beer after this?” “Sure.”


End file.
